"By not letting this go through, and by not having a facility in southern Maine, is a slap in the face of every tax payer in the state," said Democratic Sen. John Tuttle of Sanford.

Democratic Sen. Linda Valentino of Saco said she is reworking the bill so it will provide specific gaming rules for all of Maine and not just Scarborough Downs.

"We have studied this to death. We know what we have to do. We just haven't had the courage to do it," said Valentino.

Scarborough Downs announcer and longtime employee Michael Sweeney said Scarborough Downs paved the way for gaming in the state, but its proposal is still stalled in the Legislature.

"We're still sitting on the sidelines with our noses pressed up against the glass, and there's a question of fairness about that. That needs to be answered," said Sweeney.

Scarborough Downs wants to build a hotel and entertainment venue, and then add slot machines. Scarborough Downs would give the state $50 million in up front money.

That is more than the Hollywood Casino in Bangor and Oxford Casino paid the state.

"Where they paid a $250,000 licensing fee, built their project and then quickly flipped them to out of state concerns making tens of millions of dollars in profits, the people of the state should have had the benefit of that not these development companies," said Sweeney.

Scarborough Downs said slots will make the harness racing track more competitive.

The track's owner, who also owns Sanford's off-track betting facility, shut it down this week.

"It's not a profitable situation anymore, and the decision was made to shut the doors. We don't want the doors to shut here at Scarborough Downs, but that could be a precursor to what could happen to the harness racing industry," said Sweeney.

If the bill is reworked, it may have a tough time winning approval in the Legislature.

The Senate and House have been at odds over gambling bills throughout the session.

On Thursday the House approved a measure to allow veteran's organizations to put slot machines in their clubs.